1943 Chelmsford High Yearbook 1

' ----~ ~~~-~~~~~~---------~ 13 Hist Coll I CHS I 1943 I TIHIE )YIEAIR IBOOI~ II O IF 11 g 4~ 3 Edited by tlze Students o/ Chelmsford High School C 11E1.MSPO RD H 1c 1-I SrnooL To our former teacher. coach, and friend. ENSIGN GEORGE R. KNIGHTLY. We dedicate our year book. For twelve years Ensign Knightly was a beloved teacher and coach in Chelmsford High School. Elected in 1930. he served as a member of our faculty until the date of his enlist ment in the United States Naval Reserve. He went on active duty in the Armed Guard Service on September 10. 1942. On January 8. 1943. his merchant ship was sunk in the Atlantic area. The Navy Department on February 20. 1943. reported him "missing in action." As a teacher we remember Ensign Knightly's lack of affec tation, his never failing sense of humor, and his enthusiastic enjoyment of his profession. As a coach we are proud of his record of outstanding successes and grateful for the deep im pression we carry of his exemplary character and love of fair play. As a friend we affectionately hold in memory the whole heartedness of his spirit and the engaging warmth of his per sonality. Ensign Knightly never sought recognition or honor. Know ing how well he deserved both. we dedicate our book to him in grateful acknowledgment of our deep respect and genuine affection. I I II T:.N:TGN C/:0 /~Cf: l<.OLUN.~ KN/GI /TtY. USNR .. I ./ l//ELMSH ) RD I l,c11 Sc-1100 1. 1 q ..n (Last letter written by Ensign G eorge R . Knightly and received by his sister, Mrs. Malcolm Wilson.) January 1, 1943 D ear Folks: While I have a chance to post a letter in this particular port, I'll drop a line to the Wilson family. Everything is going along smoothly. Am situated quite nicely and enjoying what this sort of thing has to offer. Of course, it has been quite an abrupt change from the quiet and rather monotonous humdrum that I had settled into in pre war days, but have m;inaged so far to t;ike it in stride with the other millions of A meri can men who are spread al l over the globe. Regul ations forbid mentioning anything about the nature of my work or location, but you know that Uncle Sam's men are ever ywhere, so just picture me as somewhere on the seas, hitting port wherever our work calls. T here are days when time drags, and one thinks of home and every fine thing that A merica has to offer its citizens- just the kind of thing we are fig hting to preserve. I have thought of baseball g;i mes with shouting crowds, orderly, yet enthusiastic ; of beaches, and autos, and trains, and stores fill ed with the sort of things America ns love to buy; of pigeons strutting along the walks on the Common looking fo r peanuts from the hands of n;iture-loving citizens; of quiet Sunday mornings where worshippers of their chosen faith walk sedately tow;ird thei r House of God. T hen, too, I think of little children totally unaware that their father or uncle or neighbor's son has gone to war, fi ghting to preserve that priceless heritage-A merican Liberty- fo r them and others yet unborn. Often I think of hundreds of other A merican things that we take for granted and do not fully appreciate until we are faced with the ways that other people live-clean restaurants, hospitals, schools, movies, paved streets, newspapers, magazines and books, the best in varied radio pr')ductions, museums and aquariums, subways, lobster and turkey. All these thoughts may seem disconnected and rambling, but they are what every fellow thinks about when he is away. Christmas week having just passed and a new year beginning today has given every man aboard the occasion to say at least once. " Do you know where I'd like to be now?" So everyone thinks about the America n way of doing things back home. The one thing that T missed most of all this week was the atmosphere that one feels at Christmas. I always like to go into stores with crowds at that time of year crowds bent on the same purpose. "What will I buy for Susie or Sam?" The carols play and bells chime. A ll is gay. N owhere, I believe, is the spirit more pronounced at that season of the year than in Boston- Boston, even as it is today. I always liked to go there much more than to New York, Philadelphia, or Chicago. T here is some thing about the historical city that the other pl;ices lack. I guess it must be the old streets, narrow and crooked, the graveyards in the shopping district, and the Common. Eleanor Early has explained it all in her book, " So T his is Boston." I wish T could write about things in this locality, but that will have to wait until I am home. If in my travels I run across anything that will be of interest in your home, I'll try to make a purchase and get it to you. One has to be careful where he doesn't know values. I have been stuck already on a purchase I believed was a real bargain. I May I wish a happy N ew Year to you all. In closing, let me say there isn't one thing I need. Everything is furnished and the food is excellent. Sometimes food is a little more highly seasoned than my taste is used to, but "Filis", or Philippinos, like their food highly seasoned. Love to all , George Ill II T11E C 11RONICI.E 5 II II In Memory of Mr. Knightly Your smiling race and joking ways. I \Vith sadness l recall. Too fcw were all those hapr.y days, I You laught us one and a ll. \ V hcn Uncle Sam said you must go. I Your smile was still the same. /\nd you \\'Cf <' proud lo fi ght. I kn ow, f or you were always game. I T oday I paused before your door. Tho~1gh days have gone apace, I sli ll lind I miss you more.- I N o one can fill your place. I M. Rilu SulliPun ·-/3 I ~ Our Ensign They .say he's gone. missing at sea, Losl in adion~a bra\·e man he. Can he be gone whom we remember So vi ta lly nli ve just last , eptember/ \Ve sec l1im as h e \\'uS out there. His smiling face, his vvm· y hair, I lis hlue eyes twinkling in the sun, I !is shoulder:- squared, his victory won. \\'c shall exalt both long and loud. "\\' c \\'ere his pupil s: we arc proud ... \\'c \\'ill honor him and praise him rightly, I Pa l. teacher. coach, nnd l~nsign Knightly. Jonicc Ko/onl ·../3 I I I I I I I I I II I Cl lf:/.,\/SFOW) I I/Cl I SCI /00/. I I A fl nic11 s!wu!cl lonu ur,o fw1 '<! fcnrrwcl Tfwt cloy .,un-c<!ds the clllrkl'sl niuht: I \ \ ' fw11 ll!l tl1 <! world sec•111 s 01 •c>r /urn ed. He sure th e tl'ronu tl'ill yiel,l to riuht : ; \ II ci~ws pnsl IC' II out tf,e tole Tfwt Trutf, u11<! / us/in, nei•cr /llil. 19../3 TnE C 11RONtCt.E 7 Foreword \Ve. the seniors of 19-13, are surging forwa rd into a n uncertain future. Circumstances have decreed for many of us, if not For all, a future marked by the privalions and sacrifi ces of \\'ar. A.s we look ahead . we reali ze tha t above all we mu l have failh if we are lo meet the future courageously and accepl the disappoin.lments it may bring. The sacrifi ces entailed by rationing programs are hardly mentionable and re lalively simple. The real sacrifices me most evident for the millions in the armed forces. Firm must be our faith on Lhe home f ronl as we daily face the anxiety for absent members of our families and for our friends. \ Vith faith we can bravely face whatever Lhe future may bring. IL is nol easy for any one a l any time lo accepl tragedy. failure. disappointment, or the mulLiplied evils whi ch the future may con lain and which he who lives musl face. fvlay our f ulure be guided by our faith. If adversily comes to us, may we not be hardened by our sorrow . but rather louched \\'ilh gentle resigna lion and acceplance. Let us remembe r whatever the future may hold for 11s, our lives will be successful if we live in docile obedience to the will of our G od a nd sland firm in our faith. I C11ELMSFORn l l,c11 Sc-11001. 19.13 Students of Chelmsford High School : Your school days have fallen in a period of world conflict, undoubtedly marking the end of an historic era. You have seen the airplane bring the uttermost parts of the Earth within arm's reach. You hear speakers ad dressing the entire continent. No one is wise enough to foresee what lies ahead. The only safe prediction is that the world in which you will spend your mature years will differ widely from that in which you have hitherto li ved.

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